Box living
From cradle to grave, our lives revolve around boxes. Break out of the box.
From birth to death we just move in-and-out of a variety of boxes. Your cradle, crib, school locker, gym locker, car, cubicle/office, and lastly your home.
They say you’ve really made it if you bought a home. Having ‘made it’ myself, I just see a giant box that owns me and not the other way around.
I live in a box. So do you.
Box after box after box. They mostly get larger (you’re successful). Sometimes they shrink (you downsized!?).
But every box isolates. We lead lives of quiet desperation. We are more lonely and isolated than ever.
We are all destined to end up in a box. Do we have to live in one all our lives?
Lonely in a crowded neighborhood
“Why don’t you ask your neighbor for one”, I asked Steven on the phone.
Steven needed a snow-mower for an hour. His old mower broke down, and the snow was starting to come down really hard.
“Because we have never really spoken to one another” he quipped back. “And I swear I don’t even know anybody else in this neighborhood.”
“What about others in the apartment? Seems like there’s many houses” I asked. “Just boxes. Nobody talks to nobody, really.” Steve replied.
An insignificant monkey
About a half-million years ago, an insignificant species walked this earth on two legs. It was no more special than a monkey, or a jelly fish. The first humans never looked like they would amount to much.
But these humans would go on to split the atom and walk on the moon.
Two traits stand out: (i) we build tools, and (ii) we can rally around an abstract symbol, unite together for a higher purpose, and create armies larger than most animals.
We are susceptible to great stories — the ones that unite, inspire and rally us forward are especially powerful. This makes me wonder what stories we are telling ourselves. They seem to isolate us. We need more great, uniting stories.
Our stories isolate
A 70 year old woman died at home and nobody knew for 2 years. In countries like Japan, this trend is more acute. In fact, the Japanese have a word for it: kokushi.
This is a global problem. We are funneled into isolation from an early stage. Children are encouraged to compete, not collaborate. Politicians are busy fanning up xenophobia. Cubicles and offices, cars and homes, screen after screen — they all isolate.
Most of us are unable to make new friends after college. We are not sure how to find love, either. And if you manage to do the latter, you’ll take that one next step that will emphatically isolate you for good — buy a house, move to the suburbs, buy lots of things, and hide behind a screen.
Lets rewrite life and living
The Internet is a marvelous thing. It has paradoxically connected us and isolated us. But it has increasingly created a platform where the concept of “work” is redefined.
If you did not have to live next to your work, where would you live? And if you know where that is, why not pack up and move?
I think the trick is to start small.
Spin the globe. Pick an awesome spot you wish you were in. Pack your stuff, gather your friends (or just go solo, if nobody comes). Try it for a month.
Travel will instantly change you. You can do it yourself. If you need some help, try Gypsy.
Plus, some other handy tips:
- Curtailing time on social media has been shown to reduce loneliness and depression. The key is to use that recovered time in productive ways.
- Volunteering is a great way to curb loneliness, especially for younger adults.
- For older adults, group exercise classes can be particularly helpful.
- Lastly, for the record, people who eat well, stay physically active and sleep well tend to be less lonely, research shows.
About Gypsy
Gypsy is on a mission to help people gain locational and financial freedom. We are building the next-gen infrastructure to enable remote workers to become global citizens.
Sign up for Gypsy, or send us a note at hello@gypsy.city. Stop living in a box. Break your lease and travel the world.
We ❤ you.
